INSULATION RESISTANCE PROFILE (IRP) AND ITS USE FOR ASSESSING

INSULATION SYSTEMS David L. McKinnon, member IEEE PdMA Corporation Tampa, FL United

States McKinnon@PdMA.com Brasher, J., “Wound Rotor Motor Assessments.” PdMA Technical Conference, May 2008

Number:4a02c079 Name:CENG,YU-KAI Professor:WANG,MING-SHYAN Date:104/05/21

outline1.Abstract2. INTRODUCTION3.DISCUSSIONMoistureContaminationEmbrittlement Temperature

4.FIELD CASE5.SUMMARY 6.REFERENCES

Abstract After decades of research in insulation systems, little

has been published in the area of analyzing the graph of resistance versus time. Plotting the Insulation Resistance versus Time, gives a graph which may be referred to as an “Insulation Resistance Profile” or IRP. In addition to the standard Insulation Resistance (IR) value and the Polarization Index (PI) value, an Insulation Resistance Profile (IRP) may provide useful information as to the condition of the insulation system. The condition of the insulation system will typically yield one of four profiles: Normal, Moisture, Contamination, or Embrittlement. Additionally, these profiles may yield useful information when the insulation resistance exceeds 5000 Megohm that may otherwise have been overlooked.

INTRODUCTION Industry has used Insulation Resistance (IR) and

Polarization Index (PI) tests for many decades to aid in assessing the health of insulation systems. Insulation Resistance is a measure of the conductivity of the insulation system and is defined in IEEE Standard 43- 2000 as: “The capability of the electrical insulation of a winding to resist direct current. The quotient of applied direct voltage of negative polarity divided by current across machine insulation, corrected to 40C and taken at a specified time (t) from start of voltage application. The voltage application time is usually 1 min. (IR1) or 10 min. (IR10); however, other values can be used. Unit conventions: values of 1 through 10 are assumed to be in minutes, values of 15 and greater are assumed to be in seconds.”

DISCUSSION An Insulation Resistance Profile (IRP) is a

graphical representation of the Insulation Resistance obtained by plotting resistance readings in discreet increments (such as 5 seconds) over a specified time period, typically 10 minutes. Insulation Resistance Profiles (IRP) have also been called Polarization Index Profiles (PIP) due to the fact they represent the IRP at the completion of a PI test. Figure 1 shows the IRP of a healthy insulation system.

Insulation Resistance Profiles of healthy insulation systems appear as an inverse exponential function in form because there are four primary components of the current, two of which decrease exponentially. These four components are: Surface Leakage (IL), Geometric Capacitance (IC), Conductance (IG), and Absorption Current (IA). These components are affected in different ways by the presence of moisture, contamination, embrittlement, temperature, and the insulation condition itself. See Figure 2.

Moisture When moisture is present on the surface of the insulation

system, the surface leakage current (IL) dominates the overall test current (IT), and the absorption current (IA) becomes negligible. This results in a lower overall insulation resistance, and a dramatic reduction in the time to reach the overall insulation resistance level. Figure 3 shows an example of an insulation system in the presence of moisture on the surface of the insulation system.

A similar situation exists when moisture is present within the insulation system itself, the Conduction Current (IG) dominates, and absorption current (IA) is negligible. Presently, there is no methodology to differentiate surface moisture with moisture contained within the insulation system. Thus, when analyzing insulation systems in regards to moisture, the primary focus is the generality that moisture is present with a derogatory affect on the overall health of the insulation system.

Contamination When contamination is present on the surface

of the insulation system, the surface leakage current may become significantly higher than that of a clean insulation system. Surface contamination typically causes the surface leakage current to be somewhat erratic in nature as shown in Figure 4, which shows a severe form of spiking in the IRP with a Resistance-to- Ground measurement over 5000 Megohms. Notice the PI value is 2.16, which may be considered a good PI value without consideration of other test results.

Embrittlement

Insulation systems may become embrittled when the motor is running hot such as in overloaded conditions, high ambient conditions, and blocked cooling. When an insulation system becomes embrittled, the absorption component is primarily affected. As insulation becomes embrittled, its ability to polarize decreases, this phenomenon can be seen by a “flattening” of the exponential form of the IRP profile as shown in Figure 5.

Temperature

Temperature inversely affects insulation resistance. As the temperature of the insulation system increases, the insulation resistance value decreases. In this case, the conduction current (IG) is the primary component affected. A decrease in the overall insulation resistance value increases the conduction current IG.

FIELD CASE In March 2005, an Induced Draft (ID) fan motor

tested in the field had the IRP shown in Figure 6. Notice the

short rise time to the overall resistance value along with

spikes in the IRP. Causal analysis determined that

condensation around a cable entrance caused the IRP shown in

Figure 6 the windings were passing through a cable

entrance that had condensation all around it as seen in

Figure 7.

SUMMARY Although not deterministic in nature, the

Insulation Resistance Profile (or Polarization Index Profile) may provide additional beneficial information in assessing the condition of the insulation system over the insulation resistance and polarization index values alone. The Insulation Resistance Profile may also provide additional information, which may otherwise be overlooked, when the insulation resistance is above 5000 Megohms

REFERENCES

1. David, J. O., Jowett, J. R., Thomson, S. G., and Danner D. S. “A Guide to Diagnostic Insulation Testing Above 1

kV.” Megger. 2002. 2. IEEE Std 43–2000. Recommended Practice for Testing

Insulation Resistance of Rotating Machinery. IEEE Standards Association, March 2000.

3. IEEE Std 95–2002. Recommended Practice for Insulation Testing (2300 V and Above) with High Direct

Voltage. IEEE Standards Association, April 2002. 4. Jeff, J., “Diagnostic Insulation Testing.” AVO

International, October 1999. 5. Swinskey, D., “Fault Zone Analysis: Stator.” PdMA

Technical Conference, May 2006 6. McKinnon, D., “Case Studies in Online and Offline

Motor Analysis.”, EMCWA Conference, 2006